Lover's Carousel
by CrimsonAngel22
Summary: Yokozawa still pined after his best friend, even though he knew that he and Onodera were happy. He refuses to give up, but when Onodera's cousin, Akio Hayate, moves back to Japan and gets a job as his assistant, will Yokozawa start to think differently about his love life? Rated T- {may change} YokozawaxOC
1. Chapter 1

Hello everyone! This is my first Sekaiichi fanfiction, so pardon me as I try to keep the characters in character. The story is mainly focused on Akio Hayate, my OC, and Yokozawa. There may be some OnoderaxTakano thrown in there as well ;)

I feel like poor Yokozawa is left out, so I decided to give him a story3 Poor, poor unrequited love baby. I want the relationship to grow, since he won't be so quick to forget Takano, so hopefully this story ends up being loooong! It is rated T for now, but may upgrade to M if I can't work my way up to writing sexy-bits ;D

Disclaimer: Um, well~ I don't own Sekaiichi Hatsukoi, but I wish I did!

/ SHSHSH /

Ritsu Onodera pulled his keys out from his bag as he trudged into the apartment building. Work was getting more and more stressful lately and he was feeling the heat._ No one_ had their manuscripts ready, even though Ritsu had reminded them over and over of the deadline. No one took him seriously there, though they were all so kind to him. Well, most of them, Takano's attitude could vary from day to day. Speaking of his boss, Ritsu felt relieved to be going home by himself tonight. It was one thing to see Takano at work every day- at home was a whole other matter.

He hopped onto the elevator and punched his floor number. Briefly, Ritsu worried that he may be getting sick. His stomach was in knots and his head pounded. He leaned against the elevator wall, the metal cool against his skin.

'No,' he reminded himself bitterly, 'You're not sick. Takano does these things to you. It's your irritation.'

He spent the rest of the elevator ride in silence, trying not to think about anything. When the bell dinged and the doors opened, he stepped out into the small hallway. There weren't too many apartments on his floor. Takano lived right next door and aside from him, Ritsu didn't know his neighbors. Sometimes, he ran into Yokozawa, who often visited Takano, but he tried his best to avoid him whenever he could.

Today, however, there was someone outside of his door. He didn't recognize the other man, which meant he wasn't someone from work.

"Um," Ritsu took a couple of steps forward, jingling his keys to get the stranger's attention.

The sound made the boy jump and wide blue eyes turned to Ritsu. His lips were drawn into a nervous line and the expression immediately triggered a memory in Ritsu's mind: _a small boy, gangly and shy, with a gaze that never stayed in one place for very long._

"Akio-kun?" he stuttered, the name almost foreign on his tongue, "Akio-kun, what are you doing in Japan?"

His younger cousin squirmed under his gaze. He no longer looked like the child that Ritsu grew up with. Akio was still small, only coming up to Ritsu's shoulder, but his arms and chest had filled out. Under the fabric of his shirt, Ritsu could see the lines of lithe muscle. His face had lost all traces of baby fat, leaving him with defined cheekbones and pale skin that Ritsu had only ever seen on a girl.

But he was still just a boy. Akio was seven years younger than Ritsu, meaning he was only eighteen. Plenty old enough to be out on his own, but the last time he had seen Akio, he had been on a plane to England.

"Rittie," Akio still addressed him by the childhood nickname that he and An had come up with. He smiled now, bottom lip trembling slightly, "What's up?"

All thoughts of sickness forgotten, Ritsu rushed forward to hug his cousin. It had been so long since he'd seen him and they had been close before Akio had moved. The younger squeaked in surprise, but returned the hug fiercely.

'He's so little!' Ritsu thought as he peered over his cousin's pale blonde head. He had always been short then too, but it hardly looked like he'd grown.

"When did you get into Japan? How did you find me? Why haven't you contacted me!?" Ritsu could barely compose his thoughts as he blurted out the questions.

Their reunion was cut short, however, when Takano's door slammed open. Out strode Yokozawa, his blue eyes narrowed in a scowl. Immediately, he looked to Ritsu and Akio, crossing his arms

"Do you have to be such a loud mouth?" His baritone was laced with annoyance.

Ritsu braced himself before letting go of Akio and turning around. Yokozawa was never pleasant to him.

"I'm sorry, Yokozawa-san, I didn't realize how loud was being. Did I wake you up?" He could feel his cousin peeking out from behind him, one hand on his arm.

The taller man didn't look fazed by Ritsu's tone, "No. I just find all of this girlish squealing to be irksome."

His irritation flared. Yokozawa always had to be an ass! He couldn't even pretend to be polite.

"Well, I'm sorry you feel that way," he held his gaze, refusing to flinch.

Yokozawa was silent for a few seconds. Finally, he broke eye contact and glanced at Akio. Something in his gaze shifted, but Ritsu wasn't sure what.

"I wasn't aware that you had any real friends."

He nearly blanched.

"Of course I have friends! What kind of person doesn't have friends!? You're the one who looks like he'd drive all his friends away!" Ritsu fumed. He felt his ears heating up with anger.

Akio's hand tightened on his arm. His cousin had always been jumpy- apparently, he hadn't grown out of that.

Yokozawa still didn't react. He blinked and shrugged, turning back to Takano's apartment. As soon as he was gone, Ritsu rolled his eyes. Trust him to make a scene and then walk away. But instead of agonizing over his boss's friend's infuriating behavior, Ritsu turned back to Akio.

"Come on inside," he said quickly. The last thing he needed was for Takano to come home and interrupt them.

The blonde nodded and watched Ritsu fumble to unlock the door. Ritsu dropped his bag and took off his shoes by the mat. Suddenly, he felt very tired. Akio had already wandered inside and Ritsu noticed that he hadn't removed his shoes. The Japanese traditions seemed to have faded from his cousin's mind while he was away.

"Um, Rittie, your apartment is a mess," came Akio's soft voice in halting Japanese.

Ritsu came further into the apartment to see his cousin standing in the living room, peering down at the mess. Clothes were strewn across the floor- not clean clothes, either. There were convenience store bags piled on the small coffee table, filled with empty meal containers. And the papers. There were papers everywhere! Akio glanced back at him.

"When was the last time you cleaned up after yourself?" he asked, arching one eyebrow.

Ritsu reached up and rubbed the back of his neck. His apartment was a dump.

"I've been busy. A lot of late nights and early mornings," he mumbled.

Akio hummed, pushing aside some clothes so he could sit down on the couch. Ritsu, after a moment of awkwardly standing in place, moved over beside him.

"So, uh, we should take this one question at a time," he leaned back, drumming his fingers against his leg, "When did your flight arrive?"

Akio sat delicately, as if he were hovering over his seat instead of sitting in it. His legs were crossed at the ankle and his hands were folded in his lap. Wisps of blonde hair created a sort of halo around his head.

"This morning," he answered quietly. When he failed to provide any more information, Ritsu tried another question.

"How did you know where to find me?"

He fidgeted slightly, flexing his fingers, "I had to ask your father. It took me quite a while to find it."

Ritsu nodded. The city was confusing unless you had lived there for a while. Akio moved when he was eight- that would make it ten years since he'd been in Japan.

"How long exactly? You weren't waiting here all day, were you?" There was a flash of guilt at the thought of Akio standing outside his door for hours, like a puppy waiting for its master.

His cousin laughed, a high pealing sound, and shook his head.

"I'd only been waiting about thirty minutes or so," he assured him.

Ritsu sighed- good, at least that was a reasonable time. Still, the whole situation had him confused. Why would Akio shop up without any word ahead of time? Surely, his family would have let him know if they were aware of his visit.

His cousin was watching him. His blue eyes- eyes that were rare in the family- flickered across his face impatiently. He looked as though he wanted to say something, but he kept his lips sealed.

"Don't mistake me, Akio-kun," Ritsu said, keeping his voice steady, "I'm glad to see you, but this doesn't seem like a light-hearted visit."

His cousin shrunk down on the couch, his polite exterior cracking. He reached up and raked a few fingers through his blonde hair. He suddenly looked even smaller, like a cowering child.

"I know this is all sudden and unexpected, b-but I had to come, Rittie," he stuttered. His hands were shaking now.

Ritsu felt alarm well up in his gut. It was coiled like a snake, ready to strike. Though Akio was always a flustered kid, he never looked this panicked. His pupils were dilated in fear. Ritsu took his cousin's trembling hands in his own.

"Why? What happened, Akio-kun? Are you alright?"

Akio gripped Ritsu's hands tightly, shaking his head.

"So much, so much, Rittie. I don't think I can go back," he realized that there were tears brimming in Akio's wide eyes. As nervous as he was, Akio was never the crying type. He pulled the younger boy close to him. All the awkwardness of absence between them vanished as he let Akio cry. He cried until he exhausted himself. Ritsu picked up his sleeping cousin easily. His small size gave him the impression of a child. It made Ritsu want to protect him even more. After setting him in his bed and turning off the lights, he walked back to the living room. As he rubbed a hand down his face, he realized one thing:

This was going to be more complicated than he expected.

/ SHSHSH /

Well, there you go! My first chapter! Not a whole lot of Yokozawa, but everything needs to be introduced first. Please, please leave me a comment. It helps give me motivation to keep writing!


	2. Chapter 2

Ah, yay!~ Three wonderful reviews on Chapter One. Makes me so so soo happy~~

And I've finally finished Chapter Two! /so so excited.

Disclaimer is the same; only Akio-kun is mine :)

/SHSHSH/

When the sunlight filtered through the window shades, Ritsu groaned and rolled over. He pressed his face into the back of the couch, as if trying to escape from consciousness. The twinge in his lower back reminded him of where he was- still in the living room, curled up like a cat on his couch. He assumed that Akio was still asleep. He couldn't hear the soft pad of footsteps on his floor.

Ritsu opened his green eyes and rolled back over to the edge of the couch. Immediately, he sat up. Where piles of clothes and trash used to be, he could see his clean floor. The papers were piled neatly on the coffee table. The mess was gone, as if someone had broken into his apartment just to clean up.

"Good morning, Rittie!" There was Akio, standing in the doorway. He looked well-rested. The bags disappeared from under his eyes overnight. He was in the same clothes as yesterday, but they were crumpled and folded in odd places. His pale blonde hair curled around his face. He appeared to have just woken up, but his behavior was all rainbows and sunshine.

Akio walked forward, balancing a mug in each hand.

"Um, good morning, Akio-kun," Ritsu murmured as he accepted one of the steaming mugs.

He took a tentative sip. Hm. Apparently, his cousin had discovered the coffee machine that he barely used. He made it super sweet too. Ritsu felt as though his taste buds were going into overdrive. Akio sat beside him, sipping happily at the coffee with a blissful expression.

"Did you do…all this?" Ritsu asked finally.

"Yeah!" His cousin leaned forward, his blue eyes wide, "Was that alright? I figured that you needed to clean anyways, so why not?"

"Oh, no! That's not what I meant…I mean, thank you, but…why?"

Akio took another long sip. His slender fingers were clenched around the mug.

"I don't know…I like to clean," he said quietly.

For some reason, Ritsu didn't believe him. Akio clammed up, as he had the night before. To avoid speaking again, Akio brought the mug up to his lips. The silence became too much for Ritsu.

"Akio-kun, I need you to make me understand. You said you had to come here, that you couldn't go home, but I don't know why!" he didn't mean to sound angry, but his cousin was being vague about the whole situation.

But instead of flinching away, as Ritsu expected him to do, Akio calmly set his mug on the coffee table.

"I moved to England, what, ten years ago, right? I remember watching you disappear when I went through the airport," sadness darkened his eyes, "But, after a while, I got used to my new home. I made friends at the new school. The language barrier made things…difficult, but I took to English right away."

Ritsu wondered where this story was coming from. He could tell, by Akio's set frown and furrowed brows, that he wanted to say something important.

"Growing up without you was strange, Rittie. I never wanted to cause you any trouble, so I never tried to get into contact," Sheepishly, Akio glanced at him, "So I got through high school. A year early, even. Then my dad wanted to send me to university. I didn't mind- I liked school, so I went without argument."

His cousin paused, licking his lips and fidgeting.

"I met my adviser, Takumi Osa-san. He was a great man, Rittie! So poised and professional. I took a liking to him right away. He was always so kind to me too. He gave me praise and encouraged me in all my studies. Osa-san was a personal guy. He asked me questions about my life all of the time. I never minded, until things became too personal," Akio's cheeks flushed lightly, "He'd ask about my girlfriends and stuff. Always curious about my love life, even though I didn't really have one. And then, he started making…romantic advances."

The alarm from last night was back, rearing its ugly head in Ritsu's gut. Never had he questioned his cousin's sexual preferences, but the advance of a superior was intimidating no matter what.

"I-I refused him- politely- at first, but Osa-san was very persistent. He'd always buy me flowers and pull me aside after class. I didn't know what to do, Rittie! It was so uncomfortable and he just wouldn't listen-"

"What did your parents do?" Ritsu interrupted. Surely, his aunt and uncle intervened.

Akio blushed harder, "Nothing. They didn't believe me when I told them. They said Osa-san was respectable and a man, of all things. I tried to convince them, but my father became angry. He ended up hitting me…"

The boy trailed off, bowing his head. He was still reliving the shame, the embarrassment of it all. What eighteen year old boy can't even refuse another man's advances? He should be stronger than that.

Ritsu was stunned into silence. His uncle was not a violent man, as far as he knew. Why would that provoke him to hit his only son?

"Akio-kun, he hit you? What about after that?" He prayed that things didn't get worse.

"There was a lot of fighting. Shouting, things being thrown. He told me to leave. He said he wasn't paying for university just so I could…so I could fuck around with my teachers. So I came to Japan," his voice dropped down to a whisper. Akio still hadn't looked up.

Ritsu reached out to him. He touched his cousin's clammy hand.

"Why here?" he asked.

"I thought of you first, Rittie," Akio slowly raised his head. His cheeks were ruddy and wet, "You always made me feel better when we were kids. I panicked and all I thought was 'I need to see Rittie'."

Ritsu almost couldn't believe it. Akio thought of him after ten years. They had been kids the last time they were together- Akio, eight and him, fifteen. He scooted over to him.

"Oh, Akio-kun," he hugged the younger, "You are always welcome to talk to me. Especially about something like this. I can't believe this happened to you.."

What Ritsu really wanted to do was call up his aunt and uncle and demand an explanation. Family shouldn't do this to one another. It wasn't right.

Akio returned the hug, but hesitantly. He seemed reluctant to let him in.

"I'm alright. Really. I just needed time to clear my head," he pulled back, shrugging.

Ritsu could see his cousin retreating inside himself. He was already so withdrawn- Ritsu didn't want him to shut down completely. He stood up and retrieved a towel from his hall closet.

"Here," he handed the towel to him, "Go take a shower. It might help."

Akio ran his fingers over the fuzzy material and nodded. He left his coffee abandoned on the table as he wandered away. Ritsu heard the bathroom door close and he sighed. His cousin was so confused inside. He could see it in the way his blue eyes flickered. Grabbing up both mugs, Ritsu padded into the kitchen. He set them in the sink. His phone beeped from his bag. Ritsu hurried to check it and saw Takano's name flashing on the small screen.

'Walk with me today.' His text read.

Ritsu's heart stuttered in his chest. He hadn't even thought about Takano and work since Akio had shown up. Making sure the boy was okay was his top priority.

'Can't. Not going in today.' He sent back a quick reply.

Almost immediately, his doorbell rang. Ritsu went over and answered it reluctantly. Takano glared down at him through the crack.

"What do you mean you aren't going into work?" he demanded, his voice deep.

Shivers danced down Ritsu's spine, "I…don't feel well. I can get things done from home."

"Liar."

The previous feeling was replaced by irritation. There was no way Takano could know how he felt. He could be dying for all he knew.

"Don't be an idiot! I said I'm not feeling well. Just go to work by yourself," he grumbled.

The door opened as Takano pushed his way inside. Ritsu yelped, looking indignant at his neighbor's lack of respect for privacy.

"T-Takano-san!" he shut up when his boss pressed him up against the door. Takano stared down at him in that same unwavering way. Ritsu swallowed nervously. Takano's fingers were wrapped around his wrist and he was sure that he could feel his rapid pulse.

"Are you really unwell?" Takano leaned in close, so their foreheads were touching, "Or are you just avoiding me?"

Their proximity was enough to send a rush of heat across his skin. It settled between his legs and Ritsu struggled, feeling uncomfortable.

"Stop being stupid! It's not all about you," his cracking voice kept him from sounding pissed.

Takano watched his face, bending down a little closer. Ritsu knew what was coming next, but he wasn't sure whether to duck away or rise to meet him.

"Rittie, I, um, don't have any other clothes," Akio's voice floated into the room. The boy hovered in the doorway, the towel wrapped around his waist.

Takano froze, mouth inches from Ritsu. He stood up, looking at Akio, and by the stiffness in his shoulders, Ritsu guessed that he was not happy.

"Who are you?" the question came out aggressively and Akio's eyes went round.

"Um, pardon me, uh- I-I'm Akio Hayate," he stammered.

He clutched the hem of his towel, looking both embarrassed and caught off-guard. Takano took one look at him, and then turned to Ritsu.

"He's my cousin!" Ritsu yelped defensively. He hated the accusing look in Takano's brown eyes. There was nothing wrong with this whole situation.

Ritsu pushed his boss away and straightened out his shirt. The accusation only fueled his anger.

"You should let me speak before you jump to weird conclusions!" he fumed. Akio looked back and forth between the men. His blonde hair was plastered to his face and his blue eyes were flickering nervously. Occasionally, he shivered. Sighing, Ritsu took his cousin's hand- mindful not to knock the towel off of him- and glanced back at Takano.

"Why don't you come in? It will be simpler if I explain everything."

/SHSHSH/

RAWR! There ya go! A itsy bitsy bit of Onodera/Takano, cause I luff them :3

Same thing- review/favorite por favor!


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